The Struggles of Royalty
by Inebriated Caffeine Imbiber
Summary: Her father's death left the whole kingdom of Atlas at her command, but the budding princess was never trained to be ready for the horrors and pressure of being Royalty and commanding a Kingdom. How will she do? And what of her opposition, what will they do when they realise that she is not fit for being Queen?
1. The Hanging

_AN: This was inspired by wlop's piece of art called the Guard. Thought it was an interesting idea and wanted to put my 5 cents in. Please note that I do not own the art in subject, I am just basing a story off of it._

The window pane shuddered lightly as the crowd outside was growing out of proportion, and into a starving lion hungry for either justice, or death. Unfortunately, the result today is leaned towards one side than the other.

Weiss stared outside the window, a single tear falling down her cheek as the crowd grew. The roar from them reached a deeper pitch, nearly shattering the windows. She was alone, excluding a guard at the door and a maid behind her, in her room that overlooked a large circular area that extended beyond the gates and into a massively wide street. And in that street was the crowd that surrounded a stabilised wooden platform that spanned for a few metres. This platform was the Hangman's stage. She was to hang someone today.

But she balked. She wasn't so sure of herself, for the person who was to be hanged wielded immense power with the lower-class people.

She wasn't an upper-class snob, she genuinely cared about the people who she ruled over. But when there is an upper-class, hatred of them always follows. She had tried her hardest to make their lives better, but the room of politics was full of cloak and daggers.

She swallowed hard as the sheer power overwhelmed her, tears coming to her eyes.

"Your Grace." A calm and powerful voice came from behind, a voice that washed over her feelings and engulfed her in the feeling of safety.

"I don't know what to do." She whispered, just loud enough for him to hear.

"You are to uphold the law that you and your forefathers have set for your kingdom. Inevitably there will be people who will disagree with them, but it is your calling as Queen to uphold them."

"But they hate me." The tears began to fall down her face, staining it.

"My Queen, those who do not know the struggle are prone to believe they have experienced it. It is true that there will be people who will hate you, but they are misguided. I am sorry, but it is a burden that you shall bear."

She nodded. "I am sorry to burden you with my responsibilities."

The Guardsman stiffened considerably. "Your Grace, my life and my blade is yours to command. I am your listener, guard, your confidant. I am whatever you want me to be."

She nodded again before taking a deep and shuddering breath. "Thank you." She turned and glided towards him and looking deeply into the helmet. Piercing blue eyes stared back through the visor as he easily towered over her.

"Is my detail ready? It is going to be a long walk."

He stood to attention. "We are ready and waiting, just say the word and we will be in formation that is without fault."

She nodded one last time before the maid moved forward and opened the door for her, allowing Weiss to leave the room and head towards her responsibility.

Her gown flowed behind her like a wave of the purest silver and sea, giving her the look of a beautiful angel. Her Guardsman was the epitome or ideal of a guardian. Armour polished but still showed battle scars, his arms well maintained and his own cloak, showing the seal of Schnee flowing from his shoulders. 

They flowed down the hallway, Weiss ahead of the maid who was ahead of the Guard. They came to the large double doors that opened to the courtyard and towards the gates.

"Retinue, fall in formation!" The Guardsman ordered, his voice booming across the courtyard and momentarily silencing the roaring crowd. On command, a sea of steel and cloth to form up into a formation that spanned the sides of the courtyard and road, leading directly to the gates and expanding beyond that.

They glided down the path, the beautiful trees gracing the ground they walked on with their pure petals, the slight breeze carrying them into the crowd beyond. But it did little to stop the roar of angry citizens.

The symbol of the Schnee was emblazoned on every shield they walked by, glowing brightly with the small inclusion of Blue Dust. Her Guardsman was a bit more ornate, with stylised trees and their branches sprouting from the Symbol in the middle.

As they reached to the end of the gate, the Guardsman stopped and looked to another. "Soldier, I require your shield."

"Sir!" They responded before handing him their shield, taking his in return before returning to formation. This shield was blank for this specific reason, just a regular metal shield.

"Your Grace, I apologise." He bowed deeply.

"It is fine, Mr Arc." She nodded before continuing towards the platform. But as they neared the steps the Guardsman stepped ahead of Weiss, blank shield on his left arm. "Your Grace, please be under my cloak."

She nodded before stepping into his shadow, his shield arm rising, and his cloak wrapped around her as they ascended. Already fruits and other makeshift missiles pounded off the shield like a deep drum, rattling the steel but his arm stood strong. For a moment, her world stopped as she realised why he swapped the shields. All to be presented to the crowd would be a blank piece of metal, no symbol at all. It was to prevent the angering of the crowds, to not shove the symbol in their faces. Her throat closed itself as she choked back as tear, her left hand falling daintily onto his breast plate.

Finally, she managed a few words. "T-thank you." She whispered loud enough for him to hear.

"I am here to serve, your Grace." He responded with a voice that, to her mind, was filled with the desire to serve and protect her.

They ascended once more before arriving at the middle of the platform, a noose hanging from the centre.

They faced the crowd, a tear staining her cheek as the roar enveloped her body. All she wanted to do was retreat into the safe shadow of Arc. But she had to stand strong, she had to show that she had the right to rule.

The crowd roared as Weiss gestured for them to bring up the prisoner to be hanged, two muscled guardsmen shoved the roped man onto the platform, hauling him onto the swinging gate, the noose hanging ominously in front of him.

The man had spikey red hair, and if you looked carefully a pair of horns could be seen melding into the hair. He was wearing a black attire, his chains rattling against each other as he gazed around the crowd.

Weiss stared at the man, and he stared right back. Her mouth was filled with bile that she had to swallow as she faced the crowd. She attempted to speak but struggled to get her voice over the crowd.

Arc, taking the initiative slammed his spear into the platform and bellowed. "SILENCE BEFORE THE QUEEN!" His voice carried throughout the whole crowd, bringing their volume down considerably.

She nodded her thanks as she went to address them. "My fair subjects… This man has committed multiple crimes against the kingdom, and shall be sentenced to be hung by the neck until dead. His crimes are; Grand Theft Auto, Larceny, Arson, Treason, Attempted Murder of the Royal Family, Incitement of Treasonous Behaviour to name a few. Adam Taurus, you have been sentenced to by hung today in front of the palace… Do you have any last words?" 

"My death will be that of a martyr to the Faunus who are fighting for the rights that they deserve! My death will embolden them!" He cried out fanatically. His enthusiasm swept up in the crowd as they howled in a fervour.

Weiss' lip quivered as she hoped this would go down easily, but Adam's energy had made the bile from earlier bubble to the surface again. She swallowed it back with difficulty as she gestured for the hangman to continue.

Arc was busy watching the crowd and rooftops, more the latter since the guards on the ground would look after the crowd. But considering Adam's loyal following, it wouldn't be out of the realms of possibility to both assassinate the Queen, and free their beloved leader.

As that thought ran through his head, he saw a glint from the watery sun descending below them. He focussed on it and saw a head of black hair whipping about in the early morning breeze, the glint coming off an arrow head.

"YOUR HIGHNESS! Get down!" Arc commanded as he instinctively stepped between the archer and Weiss, bringing his shield up.

It was fortuitous that he did, as the arrow head skewered past the metal and was looking menacingly at him.

It all turned into a pandemonium with exceptional speed. Another arrow was launched that cleanly cut the noose around Adam's neck and hidden agents in the crowd kept the guard busy. Right now they had to move her out of harms way.

"Your Grace I command that you return to the castle at once!" He ordered with no room for negotiation in his tone as he engulfed Weiss with his body as they quickly made a beat back to the palace. "Guardsmen! Return to the Palace!" He roared as the crowd began to push the wall of metal back.

Missiles and other odd things made a cacophony off the shields as the guards swiftly and decisively all poured back into the courtyard, hauling the heavy metal gates shut and bolting it. Archers on the roof of the palace fired warning shots at whoever attempted to scale the walls and gates, some finding more than they bargained as heavy but non lethal arrows slammed into them, sending them flying back into the crowd.

All the while, Weiss was crying. Today went from bad to worse, having a known and prolific terrorist escape from justice, and an attempt on her life all on the same day. Nearly made her want to empty the contents in her stomach onto the beautiful marble floor.

The doors slammed shut with an ominous boom as everyone retreated into the palace for protection, the guards taking station at every window as they scanned for any intruders.

Meanwhile, Arc had Weiss rushed towards her bed chambers, letting her maid in before slamming the door shut and bolting it. "You are not to leave these chambers unless accompanied by four guardsmen. The estate is to be swept and any intruders will be shot or captured on sight. I will participate in the search myself."

"No!" Weiss cried out, staring at her bed as the day played through her head. Her hands were shaking and her vision was dimming in and out with her heartbeat. "P-please don't leave…"

Arc stopped short of the door and turned around to look at a frightened young adult who had just been given the power to rule the country, and she was afraid of that power coming to bite her.

He stared almost pitifully at her. He needed to join the search… But when she was in this state it wouldn't do well for him to leave her. Placing his spear to lean against the wall, he took his helmet off to reveal thick blonde hair shadowing those piercing blue eyes. "Of course, Your Grace."

"C-can you please stay with me, tonight?" She asked of him, her eyes meeting his.

His heart stopped at the request, every meaning buzzing through his brain before calming down and standing straight. "If you wish for it, Your Grace." He bowed deeply before levelling his gaze with her. "Then your wish, is my command."


	2. The Assassination

The castle was bustling with activity, spies leaving as inconspicuously as they arrived, whole squads forming up and pouring out into the streets, horses and cavalry all lined up as they patrolled the perimeter and went out into the streets.

The attempt on Weiss' life yesterday was all that was blasted on the newspaper of all political affiliations, while the debacle made it literal hell in the room of cloak and daggers that she had to constantly dive into.

Arc was at the helm of the operation, directing forces and employing spies to bring him any piece of information of the escaped leader Adam Taurus and his black haired associate, but to no avail. Either they were sending him on wild goose chases, or they were paid well off to not mention any of their passing, it led to a very frustrating situation that he would rather not be in.

"So you have no extra information for me?" He questioned such a spy in front of him.

"No milord, it was as if they disappeared in plain sight." The spy recounted like before, leaving Arc to nod and dismiss them.

"They are more than likely using the sewer systems to navigate and escape." His lieutenant said next to him, her lilac eyes scanning the architecture plans of the streets and buildings.

"Yes but if we venture down there we will get lost too easily, and our armour would be a hinderance instead of an advantage, they'd eliminate us in small bunches as we attempted to patrol the area." He remarked as he marked out multiple points where the system split off into multiple directions. "And this is assuming that these maps are up to date, lord knows what they have done to them before the planners have gone down there since last."

"Well we can explore with the Sisterhood of Intrigue." She bought up, but he was already shaking his head.

"No, they aren't trained and experienced enough, they make fine scouts and spies but their fighting skills I find lacking."

"Well it's not like they can go around swinging a massive sword as you do." She snarked.

He looked at her frankly. "Yes, that is true, but we are facing an organised resistance and who knows what training they have… God damnit all to hell, I feel like we are playing whack a mole but every time one pops up it's the fake one."

"Mmm they are like rats, step on one and another soon pops up." She concurred before rolling the plans back up, leaving Arc to stretch.

"I am going undercover." He announced to her, which caused her to turn back in muted surprise.

"What for, may I ask?"

"Just need to get a feel of the streets myself, kinda helps that I look like every other bland bastard." He remarked before leaving in casual clothing.

 _Sometime later_

He had found himself in a small coffee shop that had a quiet atmosphere and dim lighting, he had found himself a table and ordered a drink before he felt an intense stare drilling into the back of his head.

He felt like he already knew who it was, his gut told him pretty much so. But he had to see it with his own eyes and thus, trying to act as natural as possible, he casted his gaze far and wide before catching a pair of citrine eyes glaring with the same intensity as he felt earlier, and the unmistakable midnight black hair he saw on that fateful day.

He bit his lip and took the gamble of standing up and sitting opposite to the owner of those eyes. The tension between them was thick enough to cut, borderline uncomfortable as she glared at him and he just lazily looked at her.

"Surprising to see you here." He commented neutrally.

"Equally as surprising to see you outside the palace." She had a soft voice that was underlined with a harsh sense of reality to it.

"But what is more impressive is that you recognise me." He remarked.

"Oh it was as simple as imagining your voice yelling, you are softly spoken yet your voice exudes authority. And what greater authority to have than to silence a mob?"

"Ah, so you were there as the very beginning." He pointed out.

"Why yes indeed. In fact, I was there even before she was scheduled to be brought out." She added.

"That sounds like a deep commitment, does Adam expect that of all of his followers?" He asked as he took a sip of his drink that was just delivered.

"Of course, we pledge our life to the cause." She announced as she took her own sip.

"How noble. I can feel the hatred coming off of you like a fire." He commented lazily, taking some joy in talking cordially with an enemy.

She rose an eyebrow at his remark. "At least we know what we are fighting for, what we hope to attain and how we are going to attain it."

"Through mountains of corpses and standing on the neck of innocent civilians. Don't get me wrong, you aren't all that bad, but your cavalier attitude to innocent lives tend to rub me the wrong way."

Her ears went taught as she sensed the overt jab at her and her compatriots. "That is regrettable, but such is the price of a revolution."

"Package foul smelling shit however you like, it is still foul smelling shit no matter how many bows you wrap it up in."

"It is not our intention to cause tragedy."

"No but you certainly don't prevent it very much."

"Oh fall off your high horse and break your neck. You're supporting a monarchy that has actively oppressed my people for centuries, you have no right to look down at me in such a way." She scathingly replied.

He tapped the table for a bit before answering. "You are right, the history of this crown has been one of oppression and blood shed, that you are correct on. However, while I do sympathise with your situation and your people, my sympathy stops when I have to pick up a dead child and bury it." He replied with a cold tinge to his voice, looking into her eyes. "That's the thing I've noticed about you revolutionaries, you certainly don't stick around to pick up the rubble or body parts."

Her eyes became slits as his comments incensed her. "You speak of what you don't understand." She hissed at him.

"Oh? Then let me speak of something I do understand. A mark of an immature man is that he wishes to die for a cause, while the mark of a mature one, is that he wants to live humbly for one… Maybe not every revolution has to be bathed in the blood of the innocents and of both sides." He countered, trying to push down his own anger.

"I know who you are, you are lucky I didn't skewer you with my arrow."

"Oh so you weren't aiming for my head, I just thought you were such a shit shot."

She picked up her cup and finished it, giving him a deadly look. "This will only get worse, consider this an unofficial offer of surrender and to give up the Queen." The last word coming out cursed from her lips.

"Oh a surrender from you? I will gladly accept that, just give me Adam and you can go on living a mature life."

"Adam will never let you live another day he doesn't want you to."

"And when things start falling around him, just watch as he offers up his people as target practise to evade the blame. He is a dangerous man, and you'd do well to remember that people like him will always throw people under the cart to escape."

She stood up suddenly, rattling the china cups a bit. "I've had enough of your imperial mouth piece."

"And I've had quite enough of your megalomaniacal revolutionary talk." He snarked, causing her to walk past him.

"One more thing." He said, causing her to stop and glare at him.

"A question. Do you think that because your people were oppressed, that you will make better rulers, better leaders, better visionaries?" He said to the wall, but the message was intended for her.

She didn't give him an answer, the question laying a seed of doubt in her mind, deigning to leave in a huff.

"That went as well as I thought it would've." He said to no one in particular before finishing up and leaving back for the palace.

 _Nightfall_

Arc was doing patrols across the palace, checking in on the Queen and doing the rounds. But in his gut, he felt as if something was off, like there was an indescribable feeling as if something went horribly wrong.

He rounded a corner and got the answer to his gut feel, a knight slumped over on the wall, not at attention. His eyes widened as he made haste to the poor victim until he realised that they were not killed but knocked out cold.

"What intruder doesn't kill sentries?" He mused as he checked them over before being happy with their condition. His immediate instinct was to shout and draw attention, but his mind told him otherwise. If there was an intruder that was non lethally taking down sentries, then they'd either be here for one person or isn't here for violence. At least that's what his brain rationalised it as.

But that left only one person of importance in the palace. Nearly breaking out into a run, he made his way quickly to the Queen's bedchambers, entering through the secret guardsman entrance to an empty room except the Queen. "This is most peculiar." He murmured, no odd smells, no breaking up of shadows, no other breathing. He was satisfied that there wasn't any other presence in the bedchamber and left, heading towards his own chambers.

There was that gut feeling again. 'Wait, wasn't the sentry on route to my own chambers?' He murmured before speeding up again, reaching the door to his room and readied his sword. He slowly turned the handle as silently as he could and opened it.

There was no one there in immediate view. But he felt as if there was someone was still there. He took careful and measured steps as he entered the room, casting his gaze far and wide before he saw a blacker shadow move from a corner. He faced it and presented the sword point in a well practised guard. "Reveal yourself in the moonlight." He demanded.

The figure obliged, stepping into the moonlight to show her citrine eyes that seemed to glow softly. "You saw my face, unfortunately I cannot let that go. What would happen the next time you saw me in public? I cannot allow that."

"Oh that's lovely." He commented sarcastically. "Guards! We have an intruder!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs, cursing himself for not doing so before.

She leapt forward, a small dagger appearing out of its sheathe as it whistled its way to his neck. He blocked that out of pure adrenaline filled reflexes as he took a few steps back, hoping to put enough distance to use his sword efficiently.

Already outside, the tramping of boots could be heard. The assassin cursed as they dashed out of his room. Arc followed suit as fast he could. "Cut her off! Don't let her escape!" He ordered to whatever patrols he passed.

He rounded a corner and lost her but found a broken window. "Shit! Gotta get to the roof." He cursed as he scaled a nearby ladder that was conveniently located for him, quickly appearing on the roof.

He cast his gaze far and wide before seeing a moving black shape. "Gunman!" He called to a nearby sentry that had a rifle and gestured for it, the sentry throwing it to him.

He caught it deftly, clicking back the flintlock. The rifle was a recent invention, it was crude, not a finely crafted and honed piece of weaponry. But it did the job right, providing awesome firepower in a mobile package.

He brought the rifle to his shoulder and peered through the sight, tracking the black form of the intruder. "Alright, not to kill, not to kill. Don't maim, just incapacitate." He whispered as he aimed to the right of her, in the shoulder. "Please don't miss?" He begged as he pulled the trigger, sending the round whizzing away.

An extremely loud curse and the target crumpling sent both elation and fear up his spine. "Oh shit please don't tell me I maimed or nearly killed her." He handed back the rifle and ran his way down to where he saw her drop.

The sentry watched him as he left. "Dude, you shot her with a gun, what do you expect?"

 _A few minutes and a lot of search parties later_

"Well, looks like I've found you." Arc said snarkily as he found her slumped against a wall, blood oozing from her gunshot wound.

"F-fuck you." She said, her face pale from the shock and pain.

"Well I have to gloat every now and then otherwise people will think I have no confidence." He responded with a shit eating grin on his face, grabbing a rag from his belt and kneeling to help her.

"You're lucky, went straight through, won't have to dig it out and you won't get whatever nasty shit that came with it." He commented as he jammed the rag into the bleeding hole without giving too much care.

"That hurts!" She hissed.

"Well boohoo on you, that's what you get for trying to break into the palace and kill me."

She rolled her eyes as she realised she wasn't going to win an argument, plus she had to make sure she didn't faint. She attempted to control her breathing but when you have a hole in your shoulder it's not easy. "W-why didn't you go for a kill shot?" She asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Cause I didn't want to kill you, and I wanted you alive." He said simply as he worked on her wound. "Now I'm gonna have to carry you back to the palace where the royal physician can overlook you."

"I am not going back there." She warned.

"Then you can die here, in the mud, with no one else knowing." He countered.

She bit her lip and silently cursed him before giving up. "Fine… Take me to the palace."

He grinned as he stood and hoisted her up bridal style, heading back towards the palace. "You know what this means right?"

"What?" She remarked, unamused.

"You owe me." He chuckled.

"I do not!" She yelled indignantly.


	3. Thoughts in a Cell

The Assassin paced her wide cell, going back and forth from one end to the other. They didn't bother cuffing her under the threat that they would shoot to kill the next time she escaped.

She was looked after by the royal physician fairly well. Her shoulder throbbed incessantly with a dull ache, but the main concern of infection was all but eliminated.

But it wasn't the dull ache or the threat of death hanging over her that made her insane. She was bored.

She had absolutely nothing to do, and that's what was killing her the most.

"Ironic… Get shot, get patched up and now all I can complain about is being bored. Either my life has become boring in of itself or it's become so peaceful that I don't know what to do with myself."

She got up and went to the door and knocked on it. A few seconds later the fresh face of an irate soldier looked through the port. "What do you want?" He grumbled.

"How lo-?"

"You will be released or interrogated when they've deemed it necessary. So if I were you I'd get some sleep, shut up and stop making other people's lives miserable." He slammed the port lid shut.

She sighed and did as he suggested, leaning against the wall and sliding down. "Why hasn't he tried to rescue me yet? Clearly he knows I'm missing, so why hasn't he sent a party yet?"

'Maybe he doesn't care about me? Where did that thought come from?' She was concerned. She'd always fought for the revolutionary cause, and this is the first time she's had doubts. Where did she get this doubt?

Her brooding was interrupted when clanking of metal could be heard coming down the hall. Curious, she got up and stood at the door. There was some conversation before the bolt was drawn back and the door opened to reveal Jaune in front of her, in his armour.

Immediately she felt the desire to strangle him or stab him, but with those mailed fists it'd only take one good solid strike to do her in, so she bided her time. "Yes?"

"Awfully sassy and chatty for someone in jail, aren't you?"

"It's not like you've given me much to think about, or much to do for that matter."

"Actually, I was half expecting you to be doing sit ups like a mad woman while muttering 'Kill all humans Kill all humans Kill all humans'."

Her face fell into mute surprise, "… How unhinged do you think I am?"

His brow rose in worry, "If I told you, do you promise not to kill me?"

Her muted surprise became suppressed fury, "No."

"Then I won't tell you… It's time to meet the Queen, so I hope you've washed."

Blake looks around as if to find a mirror before sarcastically air brushing her hair. "Oh of course. I would hate to look destitute before the Tyrant now would I?"

He sighed and pulled out thick manacles. "I was hoping that I didn't have to use these but you've really given me no choice." He went behind her which revealed two sentries with autoloading crossbows standing at the door.

"I see I'm a fairly big target who you don't want escaping." She noted as she felt the restraints click almost depressingly into place. She then felt the chain drop heavily to the floor before a gentle poke from him got her to walk.

The walk itself was as boring as watching paint dry. There were just soldiers everywhere in different gear. Others stopped to salute Jaune before heading off. Some joined the retinue behind them. But what they all did was stare at her.

"Is there a reason why I am being objectified?" Blake gruffed.

"What? Oh yeah, it's cause we don't get such an important prisoner every now and then so they've gotta get their five seconds of victory staring in."

"Victory staring?" Blake asked, unimpressed.

"Look we are guards, not every day of our lives is exciting so we create their mini distractions to keep us from going insane."

"You literally butcher my people."

"And you terrorise mine. If you wanna start a 'you're worse than me fight', it would infuriate me less if you stopped acting as if you don't inflame and worsen the situation."

"Of course, silly me. I'm only trying to save my people."

"Through fire and brimstone, thus leaving the world permanently scarred."

"When your life is cleansed of all evil, then you have the right to judge me." She bit back.

"Funny, if it wasn't for you guys I wouldn't have become an Imperial Guardsman." Jaune said with a slight chuckle.

"Well no one expects to understand the full message." Blake bit back.

Jaune stopped and turned around at her. "I can empathise with your struggle and I can understand the situation well enough, but there is a time and a place and a way to cause civil unrest and riots, but when little kids are the victims of bombings and killings, I'm sorry but you've lost any sympathy you could've garnered from like minded people and have only made people hate you. Why would they expect you to be any different than you are now if all you show them are bombs and knives? What does the man who tiles rooves have anything to do with this, what about the bakery lady or the milk man? You're killing people who quite honestly have literally no impact on your current situation. And plus people's lives are already shitty and you want them to make their own lives worse, no matter how temporarily, and help you and your cause? Your recruitment drive sucks, lady."

"This is us at our limit, you don't understand at all." She hissed.

"Alright you know what? I can't persuade you at all can I? Why are you punishing people for something they had nothing to do with? It's the Royal Family whom you have a problem with, not the normal person. But I suppose you'd be the first of your ilk to address the Royal Family in a way that doesn't end up with one of them dead. So take this opportunity to mewl about your oppression while you oppress others through fear and intimidation."

He turned around and marched purposefully to their destination, which didn't turn out to be very long as a matter of fact. The large steel doors opened through the combined effort of four knights on either side to reveal a long and vast hall, at the end sat a throne made of what looked like ice.

There sat on said throne was the now ruling Heiress, who stared down hard at Blake as she entered her domain. "It has been a while since I've had uninvited visitors come into my own home. Please do enjoy the cold floor, we cannot offer many luxuries at the moment."

"You seem to be sitting in the lap of luxury pretty well right now." Blake hissed at her.

"Mmm I do suggest you take off those racing blinders that horses wear, you'd find out that the world offers so much more than what your narrow world view can offer." Weiss said, daintily brushing a speck of dust from her gown, an act that infuriated Blake to no end.

"Well then open up your coffers and we'll see how wide your world view is."

Weiss tisked at that. "Always comes to gold doesn't it with you people, always wanting the material rather than the immaterial."

"It would certainly help to have more gold in the streets than piling up in your basement."

"You seem to be of the opinion that I could quite honestly live the rest of my life in luxury, when that is certainly not the case, especially not right now considering how many funerals you are creating."

"And how many of those did you attend?"

"Every single one of them, which is more than I can say for your ilk." Weiss declared, standing up and glided down the steps and towards Blake. "Leave us." She declared to the Royal Guard, who saluted and disappeared behind bannisters and statues.

"You've got a formidable throne room, Your Majesty." Blake commented.

"I have to otherwise my throat might be slit." She looked at Jaune. "Please remove your helm and unhand her, I doubt she can go very far, what with a wounded shoulder and balls to her ankles."

Jaune relented and loosened his grip on Blake's arm to take off his helmet, placing it underneath the crook of his arm. "Is there anything else you wish for, Lady?"

"Please do find this one a chair to sit in, tis alright, you can leave me temporarily." Weiss explained as Jaune tensed up at the thought of leaving her alone.

He nodded and left, but not before turning back. "I hope you know, that next time I won't miss on purpose." He said coldly, before leaving the two.

Weiss brushed her dress again and stared at Blake. "I do apologise for him, he is a lovely young man but he is very… passionate when it comes to his line of work."

This side of her surprised Blake entirely. "Excuse me, where do you get off thinking you can talk to me like that?"

"I could just have the Ex Royal Torturer give you an elite class." Weiss scowled at her, a dreadful gaze levied against Blake.

"Oh it doesn't surprise me that- wait… Ex? Like he's not employed anymore?" Blake asked.

"Yes… He was my father's favourite pet but I have no use for him anymore." Weiss side turning her back and walking to the window.

"That I can believe, but why get rid of him?"

"Do you have soot in your ears? I said I had no use for him." Weiss said, this time more harshly.

"And why should I believe that?"

"Fuck me, do you guys ever listen to yourselves? It's always attack attack attack attack! Don't you give anyone a chance to breathe while you shove your own insecurities and experiences down their throats, or do you just hope they'll choke and understand! I am not like my father!" Her voice boomed across the empty halls, her angry form striding towards Blake. "I am nothing like him! And the sooner you realise that the sooner I can make everyone's lives better! I am trying to help your people, your kind, but it's kinda fucking hard to do that when you blow up my subjects and kill my people!" She bellowed.

"I am sick and tired of hearing all the same shit that I've attempted all my life to fix. Can you imagine how it feels when you genuinely want to do some good in this shitty little world, but people label you just like how they label your ancestors? And what of you Blake? Did you ever want to fight for peace in the good way, or did you always wanted to blow up little kids? How did it feel when people stared up at you in fear because all they can see is the fire and charred corpses behind you!? Tell me! Tell me!" She screeched, looking completely unrefined.

Blake stood there stunned, is this what she had to say to the world? Was she this upset?

By now the large door opened to reveal Jaune carrying a chair, causing Blake to look over in interest but when she looked back there was nothing left of the screaming banshee.

"Ah Jaune… thank you very much for retrieving her a chair, you may stay." Weiss said calmly.

Jaune nodded and placed the chair behind Blake. "Sit."

"And what if I don't?"

"Then get tired, I don't care." He growled as he stepped off to the side, watching her like a hawk.

"Now, let us get down to negotiations." Weiss said, dusting her dress off again.


End file.
